Help - Daughter accidentally fed chickens potato peels

[magistradomina]

Besides monitoring them, is there anything we should do retroactively?

 

[Ridgerunner]

This is one of the great myths on this site. There is nothing wrong with them eating regular potato peels. The danger is in them eating the sunburned green potato peels. I can't remember the name of the chemical, but the green sunburned part contains a chemical that is poisonous to you and to chickens. I don't know what the lethal amount of that chemical is, either for you or for the chickens. If those potato peels were not green, there is no danger. If they were green, the only thing I know to do is to observe.

I wish you luck!

 

[redhen]

Unless they were green potato peels they will be fine!
Its the green peels that have something semi- toxic in them...
My chickens have eaten many brown/red potato peels..

 

[babsbag]

This is from another site. Just an FYI


"The greenish hue is actually chlorophyll, but it is also an indicator that an alkaloid, called solanine, may be present under the skin of the potato. Solanine develops in potatoes when they are stored in the presence of light (which also encourages chlorophyll formation) and either at very cold or quite warm temperatures. It is toxic, however it would take a very large number of green potatoes to make you ill. This apllies to the green sprouts and skin.
Since solanine collects just under the skin, it is safe to peel away the skin and a thin layer of white flesh before you cook the potato. Cooking at high temperatures (over 170 °C or 340 °F) partly destroys these.Believe it or not, potatoes are part of the deadly nightshade family. While it can make someone ill, its also poisonious to dogs . "

 

[silkiechicken]

Even if the peels were so green as so the plant was growing... they would have to only eat those peels to get sick. Shoot, the list of poisonous and do not feed list is a mile long but I'm pretty sure all my birds have nibbled or swallowed one of each things on those lists and survived. Most of the time they just avoid what they don't want to eat. Granted, they range without fences so they don't eat things out of boredom which can happen in an enclosed space.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Raw potato starch is a little hard to digest, but not inherently dangerous. Solanine in green potato peels is toxic, but they'd have to eat an awful lot of them to ingest enough to be harmful. Your birds should be fine.

 

[magistradomina]

Our birds are fine. Thank you for helping us!